HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.50.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on HealthStream from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of HealthStream in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of HealthStream in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HealthStream

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in HealthStream by 101.3% during the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 763,690 shares of the technology company's stock worth $24,576,000 after purchasing an additional 384,384 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of HealthStream by 3,889.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 300,070 shares of the technology company's stock worth $9,534,000 after buying an additional 292,548 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in HealthStream in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,649,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in HealthStream during the 1st quarter worth $3,228,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of HealthStream by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,055,060 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $97,151,000 after acquiring an additional 92,067 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.58% of the company's stock.

HealthStream Trading Down 0.3%

HealthStream stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.15. 14,371 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 142,194. HealthStream has a 1-year low of $25.84 and a 1-year high of $34.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.92. The stock has a market cap of $859.13 million, a P/E ratio of 43.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.50.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $73.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.93 million. HealthStream had a return on equity of 5.67% and a net margin of 6.84%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that HealthStream will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HealthStream Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.031 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. HealthStream's payout ratio is presently 19.05%.

HealthStream declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About HealthStream

HealthStream, Inc provides Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) based applications for healthcare organizations in the United States. The company's solutions help healthcare organizations in meeting their ongoing clinical development, talent management, training, education, assessment, competency management, safety and compliance, and scheduling, as well as provider credentialing, privileging, and enrollment needs.